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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Alibaba Cloud vs Box

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Cloud & Infrastructure

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Box logo

Box

File Storage & Backup

Cloud content management for the enterprise

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Alibaba Cloud has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; Box all Business and Enterprise plans require a minimum of 3 users

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and Box actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and Box differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudBox
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliWeb
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureFile Storage & Backup
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in Box

Nothing recorded that Alibaba Cloud does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Box
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Box
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Box
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Box

Box

No use cases recorded yet. See the Box review.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

Box

  • All Business and Enterprise plans require a minimum of 3 users
  • Business Starter ($5/user/month) caps at 100 GB of shared storage across the whole account and a 2 GB per file upload limit
  • Enterprise Plus requires annual billing, and Enterprise Advanced's exact price is not published on the pricing page

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

Box

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Box review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud review

Choose Box if

Nothing in the data separates Box from Alibaba Cloud on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Box review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or Box better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Box at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or Box?
Alibaba Cloud has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Alibaba Cloud and On request for Box.
Does Alibaba Cloud or Box run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Box runs on Web.
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Yes. Alibaba Cloud has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Box starts at On request.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what Box is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that Box cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute.
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